The clever folks at Reefer Magnets have been selling these magnets for a while, but I thought of this paper-doll type dress game again this week when George W. Bush came out with a couple of announcements that seemingly diverge from some of his key policies. He risked angering his conservative backers with support for the immigration bill and he proposed a meeting of industrial countries on limiting greenhouse gas emissions. Some commentators have argued that he is looking toward his legacy and so is worried about the role he has played in thwarting progress on these two major issues. So, dressing up as a forward-thinking, rational person -- a costume that doesn't seem to be included in this selection.
On the other hand, if you think about these two issues, these are good examples of the places where seemingly liberal policies also happen to serve the interests of the business community. This is clearest in the case of immigration, since of all the loud mouths that you'll see denouncing illegal immigration none of them belong to business owners, who know that their profits are directly dependent on low-wage workers with few rights. Although business leaders have spoken out against required reductions of emissions (particularly the auto industry, obviously) there are also many business interests that see the control of global warming as absolutely in their favor -- insurance companies, some agricultural interests, etc. (It's no coincidence that Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican who always keeps his focus trained on what's best for business, has begun to make his mark in environmental issues and especially in climate change.)
Ideally policies that respect the dignity of individuals while fostering prosperity and policies that protect the long-term health of the environment would be the kind of things that everybody could get behind, so I don't think that the interests of business have to be thwarted in order for good social policy to flourish. But if legislation is crafted primarily to serve the needs of business without participation from those who put social justice and environmental justice first, we'll end up with the same predictable results. So I don't think George Bush is dressing up as a liberal to make himself look good in preparation for the G8 meetings; his proposals represent a real opportunity for progress on these difficult issues and yet still need to be shaped through dialogue with the left, the people who have been fighting for the issues for decades.
